Orthopedic fractures may be repaired by a variety of techniques. According to one technique, a device such as a pin or rod may be utilized to maintain bone fragments such as a clavicle or tibia in a fixed relationship to one another. Such devices are commercially available from a number of orthopedic device manufacturers, such as DePuy Orthopedics, Inc. of Warsaw, Ind.
When using a pin to repair a fracture, a portion of the pin is typically inserted into a fractured bone, while the remaining portion of the pin extends externally from the bone and is connected to a retention member made up of a fastener such as a nut or a plurality of nuts. The retention member can then be tightened to reduce the fractured bone, thereby bringing the bone fragments back into alignment. Although such pins are typically available in a variety of different lengths, it is not uncommon for some excess portion of the pin to extend beyond the retention member after the latter is tightened. Accordingly, it is generally desirable to remove this excess portion of the pin to reduce patient discomfort and/or facilitate proper healing.
One conventional device for removing this excess portion of the pin during the above-identified medical procedure is a “bolt-cutter” type device. However, this device has several disadvantages when used during such a medical procedure. First, the “bolt cutter” type device tends to be rather large and bulky thereby causing it to be unstable and awkward to use. Further, when the “bolt cutter” device is used to remove the above-described excess pin portion, the severed pin may still extend through the retention member so as to cause a small “stub” to project outwardly from the retention member. The presence of this small stub within the subcutaneous tissue of the patient may cause aggravation and pain for the patient. Moreover, such conventional cutting device tends to leave burrs on the end of the severed pin after such cutting device is used to sever the excess pin portion. These burrs, if not removed, are a further source of irritation for the patient. However, removal of these burrs undesirably lengthens the duration of the medical procedure. Furthermore, due to the relatively large size of the “bolt cutter” type cutting device, the incision which exposes the implanted pin must be correspondingly larger in order to enable such cutting device to be advanced through such incision into operative contact with the excess pin portion. Thus, use of the “bolt type” cutting device does not readily facilitate performance of the medical procedure through a relatively small incision.
In order to avoid some of the above-identified problems, there have been attempts to cut the pin prior to insertion into a bone. However, this approach also has significant drawbacks. Indeed, if the pin is cut so as to be sized too short, the pin may have to be discarded and another pin would have to be cut and used. Alternatively, if the pin is cut so as to be sized too long, the pin may have to be cut again while it is coupled to the bone and only accessible through an incision. The drawbacks of this latter situation were identified above.
Accordingly, there is a need for a cutting device that avoids the aforementioned problems and is capable of accurately and efficiently performing a pin cutting operation during a medical procedure, such as the repair of an orthopedic fracture. The present invention addresses these and other issues.